Vinod Rai

Last updated

Reforms suggested by Vinod Rai

Vinod Rai recommended that all private-public partnerships (PPPs), "Panchayti Raj Institutions" and societies benefiting from government funds should come within the ambit of the CAG. The PPP model is a popular medium for the execution of infrastructure projects worth millions of rupees, and these projects are not audited by the CAG. 60 percent of government spending does not currently come under the scrutiny of the CAG. [21]

Major audits

2G Spectrum allocation

He is widely credited for the report on issue of Licences and Allocation of 2G Spectrum by United Progressive Alliance government which resulted in a huge controversy in India. The report estimated that there was a presumptive loss of ₹1,766.45 billion (US$22 billion). [22] In a chargesheet filed on 2 April 2011 by the investigating agency Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the agency pegged the loss at ₹309,845.5 million (US$3.9 billion) [23]

On 2 February 2012 the Supreme Court of India on a public interest litigation (PIL) declared allotment of spectrum as "unconstitutional and arbitrary" and quashed all the 122 licenses issued in 2008 during tenure of A. Raja (then minister for communications & IT in United Progressive Alliance) the main accused. [24] The court further said that A. Raja "wanted to favour some companies at the cost of the public exchequer" and "virtually gifted away important national asset". [25]

However, the Presumptive Revenue loss calculation has never been established and has at best remained a conjecture. On 3 August 2012 when according to the directions of the Supreme Court, the Government of India revised the spectrum price to Rs 140 billion as reserve price for 2G spectrum and decided to sell airwaves in Delhi, Mumbai, Karnataka and Rajasthan for 1800 MHz band, and pan India for the 800 MHz band the response was poor, to say the least. The Government then announced that it would auction the unsold spectrum in the 1800 MHz band from the 2012 spectrum auction, immediately after the first round, which began on 11 March, got over to comply with a Supreme Court order. The government also reduced the reserve price for 1800 MHz by 30% and for 800 MHz by 50% from the 2012 spectrum auction. Response to the 2013 spectrum auction was also very poor. While there were no bidders for spectrum in 1800 MHz and 900 MHz bands, MTS India was the only bidder for airwaves in 800 MHz band. Airtel and Idea were reluctant to participate in the spectrum auction for due to steep pricing of the auction.[ citation needed ]

The main criticism to the report now emerging is that the CAG exceeded its constitutional mandate as it attempted in a sense to change the policy of the Government of India which at that point was to promote telecom growth and not revenue maximisation by arguing that spectrum could only be sold by auction and creating figures for Presumtive losses around it. However, the Honble Supreme Court Of India in the Presidential Reference (2012) has upheld the right of the Government to frame policy and said "The norm of 'common good' has to be understood and appreciated in a holistic manner. The manner in which the common good is best subserved is not a matter that can be measured by any constitutional yardstick — it depends on the economic and political philosophy of the government. Revenue maximization is not the only way in which the common good can be subserved. Where revenue maximization is the object of a policy, being considered qua that resource at that point of time to be the best way to subserve the common good, auction would be one of the preferable methods, though not the only method. Where revenue maximization is not the object of a policy of distribution, the question of auction would not arise. Revenue considerations may assume secondary consideration to developmental considerations."[ citation needed ] A.Raja is set free by CBI trial court and CBI went for review petition in Delhi High court, case is under trial now.[ citation needed ]

In 2014, Rai named Sanjay Nirupam as one of the MPs who pressured him to leave former prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh out of the report. Nirupam filed a defamation case against Rai in the Metropolitan Court in New Delhi’s Patiala house. In October 2021, he tendered unconditional apology to Mr. Sanjay Nirupam for the false accusations. [26] In a written affidavit Rai said: “That I have realised that in answer to questions posed to me by the interviewers, I had inadvertently and wrongly mentioned the name of Sanjay Nirupam as one of the MPs who pressurised me to keep the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s name out of the CAG report on 2G spectrum allocation during the meetings in the PAC or the sidelines of JPC.” [27]

CoalGate (coal mines allocation)

Delhi Commonwealth Games 2010

Padmanabhaswamy Temple Audit

Based on the recommendations by amicus curiae-senior advocate Gopal Subramaniam who was investigating the issues of financial irregularities and mismanagement in the Padmanabhaswamy Temple, the Supreme Court of India issued an interim order on 24 April 2014 stating that Mr Vinod Rai will supervise special audit of property of temple. Rai responded by saying that he felt "very humbled" and said "With all sincerity I will take up the task".

Confrontation with Governments

As a part of his duty, Rai has many a times raised questions on faulty policy making of several state governments and Union government run by Congress led United Progressive Alliance and BJP led Governments in Chhattisgarh and Gujarat. He had slammed the Union government in the allocation of spectrum for 2G mobile use to telecom operators, conduct of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, running of its flagship rural employment guarantee scheme and the spending by Reliance Industries in KG D6 oil block. He had also pointed out improprieties in allocating coal blocks, and Union government's overt generosity to GMR in an airport project and Reliance Power in Sasan ultra mega power plant. [28] CAG slammed the government of Goa for forest policy delay, [29] and the Haryana government for loss of over ₹1,000 crore (US$130 million) due to "deficiency" in imposing taxes like sales tax on goods, stamp duty and registration fee in land deals and taxes on vehicles in more than 4,000 cases in a year. [30]

There are certain times when ministers of ruling Congress coalition government criticised CAG. Minister of state in PMO, V. Narayanasamy said "CAG has no authority or right to comment on the policy of the government but unfortunately it has questioned its authority, which is totally unwarranted and against the mandate given to them". [31] However CAG Vinod Rai defended his position by stating at an Economic Editor's Conference in 2011 "I am making it clear that I do not think the CAG is exceeding its jurisdiction, because the basic responsibility of the CAG is to identify if there is any lapse," and challenged the government to identify the specific breach of mandate. [32]

Published book

He wrote Not Just an Accountant: The Diary of the Nations Conscience Keeper, which speaks about how the political system was exploited to violate laws in 2G spectrum case, Krishna-Godavari gas basin contract, Commonwealth Games scam, Indian coal allocation scam and the controversial purchase of aircraft. [33]

Awards and recognition

Vinod Rai
Vinod Rai at the World Economic Forum on India 2012.jpg
Rai at the World Economic Forum on India 2012
Chairman of Banks Board Bureau
In office
30 January 2017 (2017-01-30) –31 March 2018 (2018-03-31)
YearNameAwarding organisationRef.
2012Alumnus of the DecadeOld Students Association, Hindu College, University of Delhi [34]
2013Civil Servant achieving Excellence in Public AdministrationMannapuram Finance Limited
2013Outstanding contribution to the Indian economyCNBC TV18
2016 Padma Bhushan (Civil Service) [35] Government of India

He figured as one of the Persons of the Year in Forbes magazine in January 2011. [36]

In December 2011, he was chosen as the chief of UN external audit panel. [37] [38]

In February 2012, CAG was complimented for professionalism, training and infrastructure by its US counterpart. [39]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited</span> Indian telecommunication company

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) (d/b/a MTNL) is a 'Navratna' Category Public sector undertakings in India which is in turn under the ownership of the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Government of India. Headquartered in New Delhi, India. MTNL Provides services in the metro cities of Mumbai and New Delhi in India and in the island nation of Mauritius in Africa. It had a monopoly in Mumbai and New Delhi until 1992 when the telecom sector was opened to other service providers. "एमटीएनएल है, तो सही है" {"MTNL hai to sahi hai"} (Meaning: If MTNL is there, then everything is fine) & "Transparency makes us different" is its motto. The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited currently holds 100% of its stock. . As of June 2021, it has 3.28 million subscribers. It is also a wholly owned subsidiary of a central public sector unit.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India is the supreme audit institution of India, established under Article 148 of the Constitution of India. They are empowered to audit all receipts and expenditure of the Government of India and the State Governments, including those of autonomous bodies and corporations substantially financed by the government. The CAG is also the statutory auditor of Government-owned corporations and conducts supplementary audit of government companies in which the government has an equity share of at least 51 percent or subsidiary companies of existing government companies. The CAG is also the statutory auditor of the Lokpal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Padmanabhaswamy Temple</span> Temple dedicated to Vishnu in Thiruvananthapuram

The Padmanabhaswamy Temple is a Hindu temple, dedicated to Vishnu, in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of the state of Kerala, India. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams, the sacred abodes of Vishnu in the Sri Vaishnava tradition. It is widely considered as the world's richest Hindu temple. The name of the city of 'Thiruvananthapuram' in Malayalam and Tamil translates to "The City of Ananta". The temple is built in an intricate fusion of the Kerala style and the Dravidian style of architecture, featuring high walls, and a 16th-century gopuram. While as per some traditions the Ananthapura temple in Kumbla in Kasaragod district in Kerala is considered as the original spiritual seat of the deity ("mulasthanam"), architecturally to some extent, the temple is a replica of the Adikesava Perumal temple in Thiruvattar in Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. Raja</span> Indian politician

Andimuthu Raja is an Indian politician from Tamil Nadu, who serves as Member of Parliament for the Nilgiris constituency and deputy general secretary for the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. He was a member of the 15th Lok Sabha representing the Nilgiris constituency of Tamil Nadu and had been elected to house four times since 1996. Raja is an advocate by profession and he did his master's degree from Government Law College in Tiruchirappalli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MTS India</span> A telecommunication company

Mobile TeleSystems India was a telecommunications company headquartered in Delhi, India. It was a joint venture and Indian subsidiary of the Russian mobile operator MTS. The company provided wireless voice, broadband Internet, messaging, and data services in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">P. C. Chacko</span> Indian politician (born 1946)

P. C. Chacko is a former Member of Parliament from Thrissur Lok Sabha seat in Kerala. He is a former member of the Indian National Congress. Chacko resigned from Indian National Congress on 10 March 2021, stating that it had become difficult to be a congress leader in Kerala. P.C. Chacko is the first president of Thiruvananthapuram District committee of Kerala Students Union. He was the State president of Indian youth Congress from 1970 to 1973 and held the post of national General secretary of Indian youth Congress during 1973 - 1975. He became the general secretary of KPCC in 1975 and continued till 1979. He was elected to the Kerala Assembly in 1980 from Piravom constituency and during 1980- 81 he served as Minister for Industries in the state cabinet. He was elected to Loksabha in 1991 from Thrissur, in 1996 from Mukundapuram, in 1998 from Idukki and in 2009 again from Thrissur. On 2021 March 16 he joined Nationalist Congress Party, which is an ally of LDF in Kerala. He was appointed President of the Kerala State Unit of Nationalist Congress Party by the National President Sri. Sharad Pawar on 19 May 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telenor India</span> Indian telecommunication company

Telenor (India) Communications Private Limited, formerly known as Uninor, was an Indian mobile network operator. The company was a wholly owned subsidiary of Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor Group. In February 2017, Telenor Group announced merging the India business with Bharti Airtel in a no-cash deal with the liability of Airtel to take over the outstanding spectrum payments of Rs 1,650 crore post necessary regulatory approvals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Videocon Telecom</span>

Videocon Telecommunications Limited, formerly Videocon Mobile Services, was an Indian cellular service provider that offered GSM mobile services in India under the brand name Videocon. The company was a subsidiary of the Videocon Group, and was headquartered at Gurgaon, Haryana. Videocon launched its services on 7 April 2010 in Mumbai. At its peak, Videocon held licences to provide mobile services in 18 out of 22 telecom circles of India. However, Videocon launched commercial services only in 11 out of the 18 circles it held licences in. Following the 2G spectrum case, the Supreme Court cancelled 122 licences issued by the Indian Government in 2008, including 21 licences belonging to Videocon.

In India, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) conducts auctions of licenses for electromagnetic spectrum. India was among the early adopters of spectrum auctions beginning auctions in 1994.

The 2G spectrum case was a political controversy in which politicians and private officials of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition government India were allegedly involved in selling or allotting 122 2G spectrum licenses on conditions that provided an advantage to specific telecom operators. A. Raja, then Telecom Minister, was accused of selling 2G spectrum licenses at a very low cost which resulted in the loss of ₹1,760 billion in government revenue. Raja was also accused of not following rules and regulations as well as not recognizing any advice from the Ministries of Finance and Law and Justice of India while allotting 2G spectrum licenses to telecom operators. Series of allegations were made on allotting 2G spectrum licenses including allegations from Central Bureau of Investigation after investigating the case alleging Raja for intentionally advancing the cut-off date to favour some specific firms, which were allegedly ineligible for applying for telecom licenses, in return for bribes.

Vinod Goenka is an Indian real-estate developer. He is Chairman and Managing Director of DB Realty Ltd, a real estate development company headquartered in Mumbai, India. He temporarily stepped down from his roles during his imprisonment in 2011.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is a committee of selected members of parliament, constituted by the Parliament of India, for the purpose of auditing the revenue and the expenditure of the Government of India. They check that parliament exercises over the executive stems from the basic principle that parliament embodies the will of the people. This committee along with the Estimates committee (EC) and Committee on Public Undertakings (COPU) are the three financial standing committees of the Parliament of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanjay Chandra</span>

Sanjay Chandra is the former Managing Director of Unitech Ltd, India's second-largest real estate investment company. He is in jail for a Unitech fraud case of Rs 20,000 crore. He is also on the board of Unitech Wireless.

The Coal allocation scam, dubbed in media as Coalgate, is a major political scandal concerning the Indian government's allocation of the nation's coal deposits to public sector enterprise (PSEs) and private companies. In a draft report issued in March 2012, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) office accused the Government of India of allocating coal blocks in an inefficient manner during the period 2004–2009. Over the Summer of 2012, resulting in a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into whether the allocation of the coal blocks was in fact influenced by corruption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thrissur Aquatic Complex</span>

Thrissur Aquatic Complex is a swimming pool complex situated in Thrissur city of Kerala in India.

The Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) is an Indian non-governmental organisation that conducts litigation on matters of public interest. The CPIL was established by late Justice V. M. Tarkunde, a former judge of the Supreme Court of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shashi Kant Sharma</span> Central Civil Servant

Shashi Kant Sharma is a retired central civil servant of 1976 batch under IAS cadre belonging to Bihar. He was the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. In July 2014 he assumed office as a Member of the United Nations Board of Auditors. On 11 January 2017, Sharma took over as the Chairman of the United Nations Board of Auditors. The reports of the Board serve as a key input for policy making within the UN.

C. G. Somiah served as the eighth Comptroller and Auditor General of India who was known for his honesty and for his impeccable career record. He wrote a best-seller autobiography 'The honest always stand alone'. He had a long career as an IAS officer first in the state of Orissa and next in five central ministries of India.

Vijayendra Nath Kaul was the tenth Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) from 2002 to 2008. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2014.

The Lodha Committee was appointed by the Supreme Court of India on 23 January 2015 to analyse and recommend implementable actions for improving the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), assess the quantum of punishment for Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra in the Indian Premier League (IPL) betting scandal, and analyse the role of Sundar Raman. The Lodha Committee report was submitted on 14 July 2015.

References

  1. ↑ "Mr. Vinod Rai". Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Vinod Rai appointed CAG". The Hindu . Chennai, India. 18 December 2007. Archived from the original on 19 December 2007. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  3. ↑ "2G spectrum verdict: no proof of scam, says Court. A scam of lies, says Congress". Times of India.
  4. ↑ "Supreme Court appoints former CAG Vinod Rai to head BCCI". The Times of India. Times News Network (TNN). 30 January 2017. Archived from the original on 30 January 2017.
  5. ↑ Gollapudi, Nagraj (30 January 2017). "Supreme Court names administrators to supervise BCCI". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 30 January 2017.
  6. ↑ Chowdhury, Sonya Dutta (29 November 2014). "The nation needs to know". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  7. ↑ Malik, Aman (2 April 2013). "Vinod Rai: Auditor or crusader?". Mint . Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  8. ↑ "Democracy at Crossroads, Debunk Silent Majority: CAG". Outlook India. 13 January 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
  9. ↑ "CAG Vinod Rai at Harvard Alumni Meet". Hks.harvard.edu. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  10. 1 2 "Officials recount Thrissur stories". Thehindubusinessline.in. 11 July 2005. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  11. 1 2 "Vinod Rai appointed as CAG". Business Line . 18 December 2007. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  12. ↑ "CAG of India Sh. VInod rai".
  13. ↑ "Vinod Rai appointed Chairman of Banks Board Bureau". The Hindu. Business Line. 28 February 2016.
  14. ↑ "Govt moves to fix PSU banks, ex-CAG Vinod Rai to head Bureau". The Indian Express. 29 February 2016.
  15. ↑ "Big-Ticket Corruption Scandals a Thing of Past: Former CAG Vinod Rai".
  16. 1 2 3 4 Press Trust of India (12 December 2012). "Vinod Rai re-elected as Chair of UN auditors panel". Business Line . Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  17. ↑ "CAG of India Sh. Vinod rai".
  18. 1 2 3 4 Narayanan, Dinesh (1 July 2011). "A Person of the Year: Vinod Rai". Forbes . Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  19. ↑ Malik, Aman; Jenkins, Cordelia (2 April 2013). "Vinod Rai: Auditor or crusader?". Livemint. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016.
  20. ↑ Denyer, Simon (28 December 2012). "India's chief auditor leads battle against corruption". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  21. ↑ Rao, Prahlad (21 May 2013). "After shaking and hurting the govt he is retiring". News Oneindia. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  22. ↑ "Performance Audit Report on the Issue of Licences and Allocation of 2G Spectrum" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  23. ↑ "2G loss? Govt gained over Rs 3,000cr: Trai". The Times of India . 7 September 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2011.
  24. ↑ "SC quashes 122 licences". The Times of India . 2 February 2012. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013.
  25. ↑ "2G verdict: A Raja 'virtually gifted away important national asset', says Supreme Court". The Times of India. 2 February 2012.
  26. ↑ Banerjee, Shoumojit (28 October 2021). "Ex-CAG Vinod Rai apologises to Sanjay Nirupam over charges in 2G spectrum case". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  27. ↑ Service, Tribune News. "Former CAG Vinod Rai apologises to Cong's Sanjay Nirupam". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  28. ↑ Mitra, Moinak. "CAG Vinod Rai: An accountant who's calling government to account- The Economic Times". The Economic Times.
  29. ↑ "Comptroller and auditor general of India slams govt for forest policy delay". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 14 December 2013.
  30. ↑ "Haryana loses Rs 1,000cr due to deficiency in imposing taxes: CAG". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 4 July 2013.
  31. ↑ "CAG overstepping its constitutional mandate: Govt". 18 August 2012.
  32. ↑ Singh, Shalini (22 August 2012). "CAG challenges government to identify specific breach of constitutional mandate". The Hindu.
  33. ↑ Bhattacharya, A. K. (24 September 2014). "Not just an accountant's angst". Business Standard India. Business standard. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  34. ↑ "Democracy at Crossroads, Debunk Silent Majority: CAG". Outlook . Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  35. ↑ "Padma awards 2016 declared: Anupam Kher, Rajinikanth, Vinod Rai, Sania Mirza honoured among others | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis". dna. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  36. ↑ Narayanan, Dinesh (7 January 2011). "A Person of the Year: Vinod Rai". Forbes.
  37. ↑ "CAG Vinod Rai elected U.N. external audit panel chief". 8 December 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
  38. ↑ "CAG Vinod Rai to head UN audit panel". 9 December 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
  39. ↑ "CAG receives pat from US counterpart". 27 February 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.